WASHINGTON - In a Catch-22 emblematic of the nation's capital, Texas Reps. Michael McCaul, and Henry Cuellar pressed the Pentagon on Tuesday to turn over returning combat equipment from Iraq and Afghanistan to federal and state law enforcement agencies patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border.

But the Department of Homeland Security balked at the prospect, concerned that the department could be saddled with the long- term costs of operating high-tech systems such as Predator surveillance drones or risk missing out on tailor-made technology developed by private industry for the border.

The maneuvering during a congressional hearing reflected a tightening budget squeeze besetting all federal operations - and the impediments to collaboration that are arising as a result.

McCaul and Cuellar explored prospective equipment transfers during visits with military commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq last week, and said surveillance equipment was just one example of battle-proven technology that could be useful detecting border crossings by drug traffickers, undocumented immigrants and gun runners.

McCaul pointed to the use of tethered aerostat devices: blimp-like balloons linked to the ground and loaded with surveillance equipment.

"If they are no longer needed in the Middle East, and we do have the need for more surveillance on the border, then let's try putting them to work instead of shelving them and buying something else that may or may not work," said McCaul, an Austin Republican whose district stretches to Harris County.

Border Patrol hesitant

Cuellar said DHS "should take advantage of dual-use technologies and surplus equipment where possible." Added Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo: "Particularly in these tough budget times, we simply cannot afford not to."

Equipment designed for the rigors of combat may not be compatible with surveillance or communications networks acquired by the U.S. Border Patrol, Borkowski said.

Military equipment also may be expensive to operate, hard to maintain and require extensive training for civilian personnel. Two Predator surveillance drones flown along the U.S.-Texas border by the Pentagon cost the defense department $3,234 per flight hour last year, according to a Government Accountability Office study.

Coast Guard's take

The U.S. Coast Guard emphasized the agency does not need surplus combat equipment from the Pentagon to bolster interdiction of drug traffickers, undocumented immigrants or search and rescue missions along the Rio Grande border area.

"The current mix of Coast Guard assets and personnel operating in the region is sufficient," Coast Guard Commander Bion Stewart told Cuellar in a two-page report.

Before budget restrictions became such an issue, the Pentagon has been transferring surplus military equipment to federal agencies and state authorities for years.

The 50 states and more than 17,000 federal, state and local agencies have accepted more than $2.6 billion worth of donated military equipment for use in counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism activities - including $600 million this year alone, Pentagon equipment turnover chief Paul Stockton told the House Homeland Security Committee's panel on border and maritime security.

Transfers to Texas

In Texas alone, the Pentagon has transferred $16 million worth of equipment in recent years, including 62 tactical vehicles such as Humvees, 1,200 weapons for police and watercraft to help patrol coastal waterways or the Rio Grande River.

The Pentagon is "ramping up" to provide even more equipment in the years to come, as U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq by Dec. 31 and from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Stockton said.